Orthodox Christmas

Orthodox Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on 7 January according to the old Julian calendar. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan the day is a public holiday by law, out of respect for the Orthodox community living in the country.

Both countries are multi-ethnic and multi-faith societies, where Russians, Ukrainians, Germans and other peoples live alongside the Muslim majority. Having both Eid al-Adha and Christmas among the state holidays expresses a policy of interfaith friendship and harmony.

How it is marked

Festive services are held in churches on the night of 6 January. Almaty's famous Ascension (Zenkov) Cathedral — a wooden church built without nails that survived the 1911 earthquake — draws thousands on Christmas night.